The Hogwarts Express
by Siriusly9
Summary: Rose hated having to see him on the first train ride of the new year... until she didn't. Follow Rose and Scorpius through seven years of train rides and a whole lot of arguments.
1. First Year

Rose hated Scorpius. She dreaded taking the Hogwarts Express each year… until she didn't.

September 1, 2017

Rose followed her cousin Albus through the train, searching for a compartment. She still couldn't believe they had been turned away by their own family. She expected that from James ad Freddie, but Roxanne and Dominique could have been a bit more compassionate.

So there the two first years were, wandering around like hippogriffs with their heads cut off. Albus came to a sudden halt causing Rose to bump into him from behind. She made an indignant sound, but before any words could come out Albus had thrown open a door and was strutting into the compartment.

Rose tried to grab him, thinking maybe he was trying to force them upon more of their relatives. Instead it was another kind of horror entirely. Rose peaked around from behind Albus who was puffing up his chest and trying to fill as much of the compartment as possible.

"Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full." Albus said, as Rose looked around his unruly hair.

Her eyes widened when she saw Scorpius Malfoy sitting in the corner, reading a rather large book. His grey eyes flicked up and he glanced between the two other first years. He looked slightly put off by the idea but then just shrugged and went back to looking at his book.

"If you want." He said in a snobbish voice. Albus wasn't paying attention and flopped onto the seat. Rose hesitantly looked at her cousin and the boy with blonde hair who wasn't paying them any attention. She tried to give Al a look that told him she thought this was a bad idea.

Unfortunately, Albus decided to try and engage with Malfoy. "So you're Scorpius Malfoy?" Albus said bluntly and Rose shot her cousin a look. Malfoy didn't seem to happy with the statement of the obvious either.

Malfoy looked up from his book and gave Al a dirty look. "Yea, what of it?" He hissed like a snake being poked with a stick. Rose wondered what would happen if you poked him one too many times. Clearly he wasn't a very nice boy.

"Just speaking aloud." Al shrugged and Rose sat down next to her cousin, trying to separate the two boys. They didn't have to interact with each other and Rose thought it would be best to avoid any fights.

Malfoy gritted his teeth. "Well, don't."

Albus didn't seem to hear him. "My father told me about your dad." Malfoy stiffened immediately and Rose shot Albus a look. "Do you want to be in Slytherin?"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "Yes, that's where my whole family has been."

Rose scrunched up her nose and expected Albus to do the same. Afterall, he had been worrying and complaining about the possibility of being in Slytherin all summer. But Albus just nodded.

Malfoy surprised her by asking Albus the same question.

Albus thought for a moment and Rose wanted to snap at him to just say Gryffindor. But he didn't. "You know, I'm not so sure. I was worried about being in Slytherin, but then my dad explained to me that it's not so bad really."

Malfoy looked surprised. "Harry Potter said that?" For the first time he didn't sound hostile or defensive. Rose had to wonder when Uncle Harry had said this, maybe when they were talking on the platform.

Albus nodded eagerly. "I was named after a Slytherin Headmaster. Severus Snape." Albus said proudly and that was the first time Rose had heard him speak kindly of his name.

Malfoy smirked. "Albus Severus… that's almost as bad as Scorpius Hyperion." Rose saw a flash of white and realized that the blonde boy had smiled. The train started moving and the loud whistle blew.

Albus laughed, "What were our parents thinking?" He shook his head and then looked at Rose. "You're the only normal one left." Malfoy acknowledged her for the first time and they stared at each other for a moment. Rose was convinced Malfoy looked similar to a rat- he had a very pointed nose and chin and sharp cheekbones. And Merlin, how much gel had he used in his hair?

"Rose Nymphadora Weasley." Rose reminded her cousin softly, not wanting to inform Malfoy of her terrible middle name. But he overheard anyways.

"Yes, but that's only one bad name," Malfoy said and even though the words weren't contemptful, it still felt like an insult coming from his lips. "And I suppose you'll want to be in Gryffindor." He said looking her up and down. Rose felt like that wasn't a compliment coming from his lips.

Rose lifted her chin proudly. "My whole family has been in Gryffindor. It's the best house." She said with finality and Albus winced.

"Rose, I don't really think that's fair-"

Malfoy glared at her and began talking over Albus, "Well, you couldn't be more Weasley, could you? With your orange hair and freckles-"

Rose jumped up. "My hair is red!" She snapped and Albus grabbed her arm.

"Rose, he doesn't mean anything. And you shouldn't say that Gryffindor is the best house." Albus tried to get her to sit down but she jerked away from him.

"Yes, he does! He's a Malfoy! We should just go Albus, clearly he doesn't want to be around half-bloods like us."

Malfoy gasped. "I never said anything about blood! My family doesn't care about that… anymore." He added. Rose fumed and looked at her cousin, wondering why Albus was still sitting down and didn't look like he was about to move anytime soon.

"Albus, come on, we'll sit somewhere else." She said firmly, but Albus just scratched the back of his neck.

"Rosie-"

"Don't 'Rosie' me!"

Albus sighed, "Don't you think you're being a bit unfair? You did start it by saying Gryffindor was the best house, even though you knew it would upset Scorpius." Malfoy looked grateful towards Albus and Rose's eyes burned. Her cousin and best friend, was ditching her because of a boy they met five minutes ago?! And not just any boy, but Malfoy!

"His father started it!" She cried, although she knew that was unfair.

In all honesty, she had spoken with thinking, but she wasn't going to apologize to that smirking git.

"Leave my father alone! He's not like that anymore!" Scorpius yelled back and Albus looked desperately between the two. "Maybe you should leave if that's what you think!" Rose started towards the door, pulling her sack close to her chest.

She looked back at Albus. "Aren't you coming?"

Albus looked frantically between the Malfoy and Rose. The he sighed and looked at Rose with regret. "Rose, don't leave…"

"You're staying? He just insulted me!"

"You started it!" Malfoy argued and Albus sighed.

"I think we've just gotten off to a bad start, but maybe we can still-"

Rose shook her head. "No it's too late. I'm going to sit somewhere else. Are you coming?" She looked at Albus one last time and pleaded with her eyes. She say in his green eyes that he wasn't joining her. "Fine."

"Rose, I'm sorry…"

She slammed the door behind her and stormed off with tears of frustration in her eyes.

 **Hi everyone! Thanks for coming to my story! This will be a seven part book that follows the trios experiences on the Hogwarts Express throughout the years! Let me know what you think by leaving a review! - Alex**


	2. Second Year

September 1, 2018

Rose Weasley was so excited to go back to Hogwarts! She was a second year and that meant she now had some seniority! Granted, all her older cousins still looked down on her, but now she could look down on first years. Not that she would, but it was an exciting thought knowing that she wouldn't be the newest one in the castle.

It wasn't as scary as last year. Now she knew the tricks of Hogwarts and how not to get lost… or stuck in some random corridor because the stair decided to abandon you.

There was only one bad thing…

"Weasley, I see your hair is still as orange as ever." A sickeningly sweet voice came from behind her. She had been looking for the other Gryffindor girls in her year, but to no avail. Instead, she found the one person she didn't want to see.

She spun around and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Malfoy, still as rat-faced as ever." She retorted and they both lost their fake smiled. They glared each other down for several moments until Albus Potter, her stupid Slytherin cousin, came and got in the middle of their glaring contest.

"Come on guys, I thought we were past all this." Albus looked between his best friends.

Rose and Malfoy snorted in disbelief.

"Albus, how could you possibly think we were past it?" Malfoy looked at Albus with accusing eyes and the black haired boy sighed.

"I just thought you might have outgrown your childish feud." He looked quite disappointed that they hadn't.

Rose was about to point out that it was Malfoy's fault, but the git beat her to it. "Al, mate, how could you possibly think I would let what happened last year go?"

Albus shrugged. "It was last year."

"It took weeks to clean out my bad and recopy ally my notes!" Malfoy cried indignantly and Rose smirked to herself. All of her friends in her dorm had discouraged her, saying it would create unnecessary strife, especially between her and Al, but Rose had refused to listen.

She had dropped a new line of dungbombs (yes, plural) into Malfoy's bag one fateful evening and watched in amusement as they went off at dinner. Thanks to their new time delay, Rose had a perfect alibi and since no one had actually seen her do it…

"I didn't have anything to do with that unfortunate incident." She folded her arms.

Suddenly something crashed into her from behind, throwing her forward straight into Malfoy's arms. They didn't even realize they were holding each other until Rose got her balance back and noticed that she was gripping Malfoy in order to hold herself upright.

They both jumped away from each other and Albus glared at his older brother.

"James, watch where you're going!" Albus snapped, but James and Freddie just laughed carelessly.

"Aw, did we hurt your wittle friend?" James sang agonizingly. Rose had to admit she did feel quite bad for Albus at times, being the only one in their family sorted into Slytherin. But Albus brought a bit of the torture on himself by hanging around with Malfoy.

She could admit that in the beginning she might have been prejudiced against Malfoy because of his name. Now, it was simply because he was a git and acted like he owned the school. She had even heard Janette and Circe, two girls in her year, talking in the bathroom about how 'cute' Malfoy was.

Personally, Rose didn't see that appeal at all. Malfoy was skinny, pale, and short. Over the summer Rose grew several inches and now seemed to be slightly taller than both Albus and Scorpius, much to her delight.

"Potter, why don't you just move along," Scorpius suggested coolly.

Freddie chortled, "Oh, they think they're so big 'cause they're second years now. Well, we're fourth years and we could still knock you on your arses."

Rose gasped. "Freddie, don't curse!" She reprimanded him.

James and Freddie rolled their eyes. "Sure, mum. C'mon Freddie, let's go find a compartment away from these wet blankets." James sneered.

"Torturing younger students?" A silky voice floated from behind them. Albus seemed relieved to see their older cousin, and Head Girl, Victoire. Rose frowned knowing that everyone except for Albus was going to get a lecture. James and Freddie were always fooling around and the whole school knew about the contempt Rose and Scorpius had for each other.

"We were only teasing," Freddie whined.

Victoire glared and tossed her silvery hair over her shoulder. "Well, don't. Move along." She said to the two fourth years and some other students that were watching them like a show. Freddie and James left grumbling, but were quickly distracted by some girls pulling them into a compartments.

Albus shook his head.

"Are you alright Albus?" Victoire asked.

The boy shrugged. "They're just being stupid." Victoire nodded understandingly and then glanced at Malfoy.

"And you?"

Scorpius puffed up his chest. "Yea, I'm great." He said charmingly and Rose gagged behind Victoire's back. The older girl quickly spun around and pinned her with a long look. Then she looked back at Scorpius.

"You two behave this year," she said strictly, gave Rose and Scorpius one last pointed look, and then walked away with a swish of silver hair. Rose noticed Scorpius looking a bit dazed after her cousin and felt irritation prickle in her eyes.

Albus turned to them. "Seriously, behave." His lips thinned, like he knew that was a useless command, but had to say in anyways. "I'm going to find a compartment, are you coming?" He looked at both of them. Rose let out a disbelieving chuckle. As if she was going to spend the whole train ride locked in a compartment with Malfoy.

"I'll sit with my own friends, thank you very much." Rose folded her arms and jutted her chin up.

Malfoy snorted. "You have friends."

Albus shot his friend a glare. Rose prepared to snap back, because he knew full well that she had plenty of friends and two best friends in Gryffindor.

Albus said something before she could though, "Well, I'm going to find a compartment. I'll see you two later."

He walked off as Rose shouted, "Wait, don't leave me with him. Take your pet with you." Albus ignored her and disappeared into a crowd of students.

"Pet?" Malfoy demanded.

Rose turned back to him and smirked. "Yes, a little puppy nipping at the heels of your master." Malfoy's face turned red and his eyes looked silvery with emotion.

"You little-"

"Just follow Albus!" She snapped dismissively.

Malfoy clenched his fists and Rose stared at him defiantly. "You're going to end up alienating Al if you keep up this act." He snapped and Rose jerked back.

"What act?"

"You're a horrible spoiled brat!" Malfoy said like it was obvious. Rose's eyes burned with frustration and she felt her palm tingle, like it was itching to slap someone.

"I am not!" She cried.

Malfoy smirked, "You are too! Even Albus can't stand to be around you because you're always looking to pick a fight."

Rose pressed her lips together so they wouldn't tremble. "You started it!"

He held his hands up innocently. "I was just finishing what you started last year."

She was ready to protest, but saw her best friends racing up to them, weaving between other students.

Clarissa breathed heavily and pushed her dirty blonde hair off her face. "Rose, we've been looking for you everywhere." She said breathlessly and Tara nodded. Then they both seemed to notice Malfoy's presence and Rose's red face.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked quietly. Rose actually wasn't sure who she was speaking to, but she just assumed her best friends was talking to her and not the Malfoy git.

"Fine," she said although her throat was constricted, "have you got a compartment?" Rose asked hopefully, but one look at their faces said that Tara and Clarissa were hoping to ask Rose the same thing.

"No." Clarissa sighed and then glanced at Malfoy. Rose saw an idea flash in her friend's eyes and she began to give Clarissa the universal signal for 'don't do it'! But she did it. "Maybe we can sit with Scorpius and Albus."

Rose immediately began protesting, but Malfoy was all smiles. "Sure, if you love ladies, and Rose, would like to accompany to my compartment…" He offered each of them an elbow and they giggled. Rose knew her friends weren't those girls that got all giggly about boys, they were just laughing at his phrasing.

Rose followed behind the trio as she watched Malfoy woo her friends and speaking in a charming manner. Rose rolled her eyes, knowing that his efforts were wasted on her friends. Finally she saw them approaching where Albus was sitting. Malfoy slid open the door, releasing Tara and Clarissa's arms.

"Ladies first." He made a wide sweeping gesture and Albus looked up questioningly.

Tara smiled but didn't move. "Actually, we just need to speak to Rose for a few minutes. We'll be right in." Rose was happy when her friends shut the door, so she could ream them out for making her sit with her arch enemy.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as they pulled her away from the compartment. "We can't sit with them! That's the good part about having friends this time around- I don't have to sit with my cousin and his lame friend."

Tara sighed, "There's nowhere else to sit. Besides, he's not half as bad as you make him out to be."

"He's horrible to me!"

Clarissa cleared her throat. "You're horrible to each other." She said softly.

Tara nodded eagerly. "I bet if you don't say anything to him, he won't say anything to you." She gave Rose a pointed look and Rose looked to Clarissa for help.

Her other friend wasn't going to give her anything.

Rose sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine, I won't start anything." The sighed in relief and started to turn back to the compartment. "But if he does, I will most certainly finish it!" The girls rolled their eyes and went into the compartment. Rose lingered outside and took a deep breath.

A whole train ride with Malfoy. That was something she would need to prepare herself for. Everything seemed to be going fine. Tara was speaking animatedly with Albus about Quidditch and Scorpius was listening, while Clarissa and Rose spoke about their studies.

Every few minutes Rose would catch Malfoy looking at her and they would exchange sneers. Rose was too busy giving Malfoy the evil eye to pay attention to what Clarissa was saying.

"Rose, did you hear me?" Clarissa asked in frustration. Rose quickly turned to her friend.

"Sorry what?"

Clarissa sighed, "Don't you wish you could go to Hogsmeade this year?"

Rose perked up, "Yes! All my older cousins get to go and they always tease me."

Albus nodded, looking away from Tara, "I wish James would shut up about it already. That's all he spoke about last year- how he could go to Hogsmeade and I had to wait two years."

Malfoy nodded eagerly, "And then we can buy things from your uncle's shop and be the prankers and not the prankees." Rose scrunched up her nose.

"I wish Uncle George would stop selling his products to students." She sighed and Tara laughed.

"Only because you were on the wrong side of one of them."

"It was Louis's fault entirely!" Rose fumed and folded her arms.

Malfoy smirked. "Ah, yes the day you walked around with a rainstorm above your head. That was quite a brilliant gag." Rose couldn't tell if he was simply admiring her Uncle's work or if he was making fun of her. So she just assumed he was being an arse, because he normally was.

"You didn't think it was so funny when that Ravenclaw slipped you a love potion. It's too bad you're so scrawny that you couldn't handle the dosage." Rose retorted and Malfoy shot her a dirty look.

"Can't we just have one peacefully train ride?" Albus muttered.

"He started it!"

"She started it!"

They yelled simultaneously.

Clarissa frowned. "You both are horrible. Honestly, I heard about what happened on the train at the end of last year… you both gave some Hufflepuff third year a panic attack." She shook her head disapprovingly.

Rose huffed. "Honestly, that third year needed to buck up. It was only a small stinging charm."

"You set a compartment on fire after electrocuting everyone in it." Albus said dryly.

Malfoy shrugged. "Only because Weasley can't to a proper stinging charm."

"And because Malfoy doesn't know how to counter it." Rose sniffed.

Tara laughed, "Man, I wish I had been there taping the whole thing." Rose could see Malfoy thinking about what Tara said and then coming to the realization she was talking about a muggle gadget called a video camera. Tara's mum was a muggle and she knew all sorts of stuff like that.

"Yes, we could keep replaying Malfoy screaming like a mandrake." Rose giggled.

Albus ruffled his hair. "I don't know. Victoire and all the rest of our prefect cousins were pretty mad at you."

"I don't know why. They never get mad when James and Freddie blow something up. Except for that one time Dom went barmy because Freddie blew up her makeup bag."

Albus barked out a laugh. "I feared for my life."

Rose and Al dissolved into a fit of giggles while the others were forced to wonder what had happened on the day Dom lost it. Rose leaned her head back and squeezed her eyes shut, tears of laughter clouding her vision.

As the giggles died down, Rose swung her legs. It was amazing how short they all were- except for Clarissa. Out of all of them, Clarissa was the tallest and Tara was the shortest. Scorpius was taller than Albus, but often look smaller because he was so skinny, and Rose was slightly taller than the two boys.

She couldn't wait to find an opportunity to tease Malfoy about that.

No doubt there were going to be many opportunities to tease him about lots of things this year.

 **Second chapter! So there's obviously not a lot of RoSco in the first 2 or 3 years because they're children, but don't worry, it will come! Leave a review and let me know what you think! - Alex**


	3. Third Year

**September 1, 2019**

Rose was horrified that Albus was now taller than her, mostly because that meant that Scorpius was probably taller than her as well. She supposed it wasn't so horrible seeing as Albus was barely a few inches taller than her, but she was convinced that his wild hair made him look taller.

She sighed as she stood on her toes and tried to find Clarissa and Tara. Rose had hurried her parents off before her mum had another meltdown about Rose being 'all grown up.' Honestly, she was only a third year.

But the more Rose though about it, the more excited she became. She boarded the train alone, figuring that her friends were already inside a compartment. As she searched through the compartments and couldn't find Al, Clarissa, or Tara, Rose had a sinking feeling. She passed by the compartment where James and his cronies were sitting, no doubt planning to blow something up.

She was sad that Victoire was no longer at Hogwarts to hold those idiots back.

When Rose found her three friends together she frowned. If Al was sitting with them, that meant…

"Weasley," Malfoy was strutting down the corridor. He stopped in front of her and stood up straight, now doubt showing off his new height.

As Rose feared, Malfoy was several inches taller than her. But he was still extremely skinny, she thought with relish.

"Malfoy," she acknowledged coldly. A thrill ran through her as she saw the fire in his eyes, and she wondered what argument they would be having today.

His lips lifted in a sneer. "Merlin, your mum let you walk out of the house wearing that." He looked her up and down and her face turned red. Admittedly, her outfit was not as put together as it could have been, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

Instead, she folded her arms, hugging the bright orange jumper close to her. "And you look as grim as ever." She motioned to his black suit that he insisted on wearing, even thought he was a thirteen year old boy and not a man attending the funeral of his wife.

Although, the silk green tie suited him. Rose shook her head.

Malfoy glared. "Yes, it's quite obvious that you think wearing nice clothes would be a bad thing."

Rose huffed, "Oh please, I look how a thirteen year old girl should look. You, on the other hand, look like a fifty year old salesman who's just keeping up appearances."

His eyes flashed and excitement ran through her. Was it bad that she sort of enjoyed arguing with him? Probably. Was it going to stop her? Nope.

"So you decided to match your hair with your clothes?"

"My hair is red!" She hissed, clenching her fists together.

Malfoy smirked, "Alright then, Red. It still doesn't change the fact that you look like a toad. It doesn't matter that we can go to Hogsmeade this year because no bloke would ever want to take you." He said with a satisfied smile.

Rose took a threatening step closer to him. "Don't call me Red! And no girl wants to take you to Hogsmeade either." She said and cursed herself for not thinking of a better response.

"Well, I don't want to go with any girls, Red." He snapped.

"Good, because they don't want you either!"

It was probably the most stupid and pointless conversation they had ever had. But Rose knew that they both enjoyed it. It never mattered what they were arguing about, in fact most of the time they argued about nothing.

"What are you doing?" Clarissa's voice floated from inside the compartment. She had opened the door slightly and was looking at Rose and Malfoy, both flushed and slightly out of breath.

Malfoy glanced as Rose and then gave Clarissa a dashing smile. "Nothing, just having a chat about how great this year is going to be." Malfoy sauntered into the compartment and Clarissa looked at Rose.

"Well, come on, the train is going to leave any moment," Clarissa motioned for Rose to come in. This is what Rose had feared-that she would have to spend the entire train ride with Malfoy, because her friends suddenly decided they wanted to hang out with her cousin and Malfoy.

Rose sat opposite to the blonde git, which was not far enough away in her opinion. He flashed a smirk in her direction and then went on talking to Albus.

"Are you taking Care of Magical Creatures?" Tara asked Rose, who shook her head in response. It's not that Rose didn't like Hagrid, she just preferred other subjects that would cost you a limb.

"No, I'm taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy." Rose admitted guiltily. She could already imagine Hagrid's face when he found out, but loads of her relatives were already taking that subject so he couldn't be too angry.

"Hagrid will be crushed." Clarissa sighed.

Rose slumped over, "I know, but at least Albus is taking it."

Tara looked at Albus in surprise. "Really?"

Malfoy shook his head. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he's determined to die." Albus scoffed and rolled his eyes. He punched Malfoy's shoulder playfully and Malfoy rubbed his arm and winced. Rose raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly dropped his hand from where Al hit him and a cool facade came over his face.

Malfoy really was a weak boy, Rose decided.

"It won't be so bad." Albus said determinedly. "Freddie said it was awesome."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "Is this the same Freddie who loves destruction and chaos?"

Scorpius barked out a laugh and Rose giggled, but Albus frowned. "Well, yes… but that doesn't mean anything."

"You're horrible." Tara shook her head with a grin on her face.

"This year is going to be amazing." Clarissa sighed. "I can't wait to go to Hogsmeade."

Rose and Scorpius glared at each other but didn't say anything to avoid upsetting their friends. She looked at him, thinking about what he said about her looking like a toad. She knew it wasn't true. Victoire and Roxy were her cousins after all, she couldn't look completely horrible. And she grudgingly admitted that what she said wasn't true either. At the end of last year she had heard some girls in the loo talking about how _dreamy_ Scorpius was.

She looked away from him and out the window. And those girls weren't even in Slytherin. They should've hated him, instead they were talking about how next year they wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him.

"Rose, aren't you excited to go to Hogsmeade?" Albus asked.

"Al, we go there all the time to Uncle George's shop." Rose said flatly.

He smiled excitedly, "But we've never gone by ourselves! It's going to be great, we can do whatever we want. Mum's not here to tell me not to buy ten pounds of Zonko's candy."

"I'm still here." Rose pointed out.

Tara made a disgusted face. "Who can eat ten pounds of candy?"

Scorpius laughed, "Who can't?" He and Albus grinned at each other.

The girls rolled their eyes. "Boys."

This was going to be a long train ride and an even longer year, but Rose couldn't keep a giddy smile off of her face. Even when she looked at Scorpius.


	4. Fourth Year

**September 1, 2020**

Rose wasn't her usual self as she boarded the train with Albus and Lily. She wasn't sure if her cousins noticed since Al was busy looking for the white-haired wonder and Lily went to find her own friends.

"Al! Rose!" Tara shouted, receiving several dirty look from other students. "Merlin, is it just me or are there more students this year?" Clarissa found them as Tara spoke and pushed her way through the crowds.

"Definitely more!" Clarissa agreed. "Luckily Scorpius found us a compartment."

Rose made a face. She hated how her friends and Albus's friend had slowly meshed into one friend group. They ended up meeting in Hogsmeade, studied in the library, and sometimes ran to the kitchens when they had missed a meal. But Rose didn't realize the extent of how chummy they were all getting until Valentine's day last year and Clariss and Tara were actually surprised that Scorpius didn't come with them to Hogsmeade.

She sighed as she sat down as far from Malfoy as she could.

"How was everyone's holidays?" Scorpius asked, mostly looking at Tara and Clarissa.

"Great! I went to Spain and Morocco, they have the most amazing beaches! Except sometimes the beaches in Spain have rocks instead of sand." Clarissa rambled.

Tara looked at Rose. "Why do you look so glum?"

Rose stared out the window, waiting for the train to move. She wanted to tell Tara and Clarissa all about the wonderful boy she had met at the park, but she certainly didn't want Malfoy and Albus in on the conversation.

"Rose had to leave her boyfriend." Lily sang.

Albus and Scorpius sputtered, both looking furious. "You had a boyfriend?" Albus looked upset. "How come I didn't know?"

"Who would date you?" Scorpius sounded amazed.

Rose glared at him, but kept her mouth closed.

"He's a muggle."

Rose wasn't sure why she kept watching Scorpius's reactions and why it sent thrills to see him so upset. She rationalized, telling herself it was normal to want to see the boy you hate upset. "It would have never lasted," Rose sighed.

"Why?" Tara asked.

"I'm a witch. He's a muggle." Rose said bitterly.

Scorpius snorted and it was not attractive. That's what she told herself. "And you're fourteen." He drawled.

"He's fifteen." Rose said proudly, momentarily ignoring her policy on not saying anything to the blonde prat.

"Oh, in that case…"

"Stuff it."

After an awkward pause, Tara said, "So your cousin Dominique is Head Girl! She's the most gorgeous girl in the school!"

Albus made a face. "You should see her at home. She's a slob."

"She's perfect in school though. Do you ever think about what will happen when we're seventh years?" Clarissa asked.

"Rose will be Head Girl." Albus said immediately.

Scorpius shook his head. "She's not popular enough."

The train tooted and started to move. "I'm plenty popular!" Rose cried in outrage.

"Yeah? Name three friends, not including Tara and Clarissa. And no family." Scorpius countered. Rose's mouth popped open. And then shut. And then open again. "See?"

"Why don't you name three friends, not including Albus," Rose challenged.

So he did. "Carrick Nott, Zane Wabash, and Lidia Zabini." He said without missing a beat. "I can name more if you want." He gave her a confident smirk and watched as she seethed.

"Well, what does it matter if Tara and Clarissa are my best friends. I have plenty of mates who are family but that doesn't make them any less important!" Rose snapped. "You're just jealous because you don't have any family." Scorpius's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to put my robes on." Rose said, effectively ending the conversation. They had been only the train for ten minutes and Rose could already tell this was going to be the most difficult train ride to date.

She clutched her robes as she maneuvered around other students who seemed to think it was okay to block the small hall outside of the compartments. If she was James or Dom, Rose would have made a snide comment and forced her way through the friend group. Instead she politely skirted around them, ignoring the looks they gave her. After three years at Hogwarts everyone knew who she was.

Heck, everyone knew who she was before she even came to Hogwarts.

She had gotten used to the stares, but didn't bask in it like some of her cousins.

"Oy, Weasley!"

Rose froze, praying that it wasn't who she thought it was. She slowly turned around and came face to face with Scorpius Malfoy as he already barreled into her. She stared at him in disbelief.

"Took you long enough, I'd been calling you forever." He said dramatically.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Rose growled and he grinned at her.

"What's with the hostility?" He asked innocently, his gray eyes going wide.

She folded her arms. "What do you want?"

"I was just wondering why you're so upset," he maintained the look of perfect innocence and it would've been believable if not for the hint of mischief in his gun-metal eyes. That little spark made his eyes look silvery. "You're only fourteen and you're getting all blubbery over a boy?" He snicked and her face pinched together.

Rose nearly snarled at him, but somehow she managed to stay composed. "You're a prat and I don't know why my cousin likes you." She still wanted to throttle him.

"Your cousin and your best friends." Scorpius replied happily. "Haven't you noticed how close our little gang has become? Now tell me about the muggle that you're so infatuated with," he demanded, still holding onto some of the pleasant tone he had been retaining.

"It's none of your business," said Rose as she took a threatening step forward. She was so glad that she had grown two more inches over the summer and was now nearly as tall as Scorpius and Albus. Her mum kept telling her not to get too comfortable because she wouldn't grow anymore, but the boys would. Apparently, between fifth and sixth year both her father and Uncle Harry had shot up like sprouts. Scorpius had grown a little over the summer, but nothing extremely noticeable since last year.

Rose was 5'6" and Scorpius was 5'8". Hardly any difference at all if you accounted for shoes.

"Did Albus tell you I met a girl in Italy?"

Rose blinked, caught completely off guard by his question on several fronts. One, she didn't even know he had gone to Italy. Two, why would Albus mention anything about Scorpius to Rose. And three, how could he have met a girl?!

She sputtered, "Why would I care about that?"

"Of course mine was a witch." He said and she had trouble following his line of thought as he seemed to be skipping over her half of the conversation and simply directing the talking wherever he wanted it to go.

She scowled when she realized that he was turning this into a competition for whoever had the best summer fling. "What does that matter? And why the bloody hell would I care?" She hissed and Scorpius's eyebrows shot up at her curse.

"How is it possible to have a relationship with a muggle?" Scorpius asked thoughtfully. Just as Rose opened her mouth, his thoughtful look fell away and was replaced was a smirk. "Or were you just in it for the quick snog?"

Rose was so taken back by his rudeness, her mouth simply opened and closed like a fish. She may have even let out a little gasp. Finally, she had to good sense to scorn him. "He was not just a quick snog! You are so prejudiced!" And for good measure she added, "Just like the rest of your family." His eyes darkened immediately and the mischievous spark disappeared along with his smirk. She took as step back as she realized that she had crossed a line.

They always flung insults at each other, and with relish, but it was an unspoken rule that they never crossed the line of family. She waited for his backlash, the impending explosion that would be the cherry on top of her "Guilt Sunday."

"I didn't mean it like that."

She glanced up at the sound of his soft tone. He continued to speak quietly, "I just meant that how could you be in a relationship with a person who doesn't know who you really are? It seems like a lot of secrets and lying would also be a part of that relationship." Rose deflated like a holey balloon, letting the tightness of her shoulders fall away.

"It was difficult, but her was sweet and nice…" Rose bit her lip. "He wanted to write to email me or call me over the semester, but that's impossible. I couldn't explain to him why we could speak while I was away at school and things just sort of ended there." She finished lamely and realized how indifferent she sounded. Scorpius opened his mouth, but Rose bowled on, "I mean, we really liked each other, but how could it have worked. I'm hoping to speak with him over break, but maybe I should just let things be. We're only fourteen after all, actually he's fifteen, but we shouldn't be so caught up in a relationship anyways." Scorpius opened his mouth. "My father would keel over if I told him I had a boyfriend. Oh, there's absolutely no way to make things work." She wailed dramatically.

Scorpius's hands shot out and grabbed her shoulders. He shook her lightly. "Rose, snap out of it. You're working yourself up over nothing." He said firmly. Rose forced herself to take a breath and focus on Scorpius's steady eyes and the grip he had on her shoulders. After a few deep breaths, she exhaled feeling extremely calm.

"You're right." She let her chin drop.

"Can you repeat that?"

Rose whacked his stomach and her eyes widened when she realized how hard it was. Had he done sit ups or something over the summer? "Don't be a prat." But she couldn't help the smile that came across her lips. Scorpius dropped his arms and shoved them into his suit pockets.

"Yeah, well… don't let this bloke bug you. I'm the only one who's allowed to give you grief." He said teasingly and she laughed nervously, unsure why she was nervous. After a pregnant pause, Scorpius cleared his throat. "We should head back."

"I still have to change." She showed him her robes.

"Right," he nodded and looked like he was going to walk away but then grinned. "Are you sure those will fit? It looks like you've put on a few pounds." He laughed as he sauntered away while she stared fumingly at his retreating backside.


	5. Fifth Year

**September 1, 2021**

Rose and Scorpius awkwardly glanced at each other and then quickly looked away. This had been the routine for several minutes, since they sat down in the prefect's carriage. Rose played with one of her earring and then twisted a lock of hair around her finger. She looked out the window, then back at Scorpius who was staring at his hands.

Then she looked around the prefect's carriage. It was everything she hoped it would be. It looked more like a cozy, well-furnished living room than a train car. There were neutral colored couches that were squishy yet firm and some leather chairs with wooden frames that looked very comfortable. There was a fireplace that didn't have a chimney and Rose had to admire that she was on a magic train.

Rose glanced at her watch. 11:53. They had both turned up exactly ten minutes early for the prefect meeting and had been sitting in silence for the last three minutes. Upon initial arrival they sat apart but not so far apart that it looked like they were avoiding each other. He was on the couch perpendicular to hers and a coffee table separated them. They both sat stiffly in the middle of the couch, not on opposite ends, yet not huddled together.

"How was your summer?" Scorpius asked.

She glanced up in surprise. "Oh… um, it was alright. Nothing too exciting." She pressed her lips together. "You?"

"France was nice. I dunno if Al told you I was going to France." He gave her a questioning look.

"He might've mentioned it," she shrugged like she hadn't been paying attention.

An annoyed looked flashed across Scorpius's face before he asked, "How's Judah?"

Rose blushed, immediately understanding the annoyance that crossed Scorpius's face. Nor he or Albus had liked Judah from the first moment Rose introduced the three of them. Tara and Clarissa hadn't disliked Judah, but Rose could tell they sided with Scorpius and Albus. "We decided to call it quits before coming back to school."

Scorpius's pale eyebrows shot up and he looked pleased which Rose didn't know what to do with. "Albus said you two saw each other over the summer." He said and then gave he an accusing look.

"We did once at the beginning, but I didn't feel like coming into fifth year in a relationship. We only got together the last Hogsmeade of fourth year and it didn't feel right."

"Good." Scorpius said with a quick nod. "None of us liked him."

Rose sighed. "I didn't realize I needed your approval."

"If you're going to get on with a bloke don't you think you're friends should approve." Scorpius still had the accusing tone in his voice and it was starting to grate on her nerves. She didn't have anything to apologize for. She froze when she realized his words.

"We're friends?" She stared at him and watched his translucent skin flush a pretty pink.

He stumbled a few times before untying his tongue. "Well, we share all the same friends and we've known each other for four years."

"I didn't think we liked each other very much." Rose said slowly. She didn't want him to think she was mocking him or scorning the idea of being friends. A year ago, she would've hurled at the idea of being able to stand his company. That was, until she realized that she did stand his company seeing as they all hung out as a group rather frequently.

Scorpius looked steadily at Rose. "So?"

"Hmm?"

"We need to like each other to be friends?"

A laugh bubbled out of Rose before she could stop it. "Usually like and friends go together, and dislike and enemies go together."

"I enjoy fighting with you, Red." Scorpius said properly. Two years of that bloody nickname. It didn't even really bother her anymore. She actually found it a tiny bit endearing. The girls in her dorm thought she was just so lucky that Scorpius Malfoy, Merlin's gift to women, had a special name for her.

Rose looked away. "Is that wrong?"

"That I enjoy fighting and bickering with you?" Scorpius pulled back, looking slightly ashamed.

"That we like bickering with each other." Scorpius looked at her in surprise. "Yes, from time to time I enjoy our antics as well. You know, it's amazing we made prefect consider the damage we've caused over the years."

Scorpius scoffed and arrogance overtook his body, completely changing his demeanor. He leaned back and spread his legs, taking up as much space as he possibly could. Suddenly Rose understood what the petty girls in her dorm were talking about when they spoke of confidence being such an attractive quality. "We are the best students in our class—"

"—I'm the best—"

"—and we never caused any serious damage." Scorpius continued like she hadn't spoken. "The worst was that broken window."

"You mean the one I sent you flying through?"

"Yes." He replied seriously. "It was a shame, that was a nice window."

"Very nice indeed." She nodded without a hint of humor. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. By the time the Head Boy and Girl, her cousin Roxanne, walked into the compartment Rose was nearly in tears.

Roxanne raised her eyebrows when she saw that the two people who were known for they fighting, weren't fighting. "Everything okay?" Rose and Scorpius stopped laughing immediately when they noticed the Heads standing there, smiling like there was a secret they were never going to share.

"Of course." Rose chirped and checked her watch. 11:56. She really would've thought that the Head Boy and Girl would arrive more than four minutes early to their own meeting. "So do you have a patrol timetables? And are we going to find out who our patrol partners are? Also, can prefects deduct points from other prefects, because if so, there should be some sort of review to make sure powers are being abused."

Head Boy Jesse Davis looked frazzled by Rose's rapid-fire questions, but Scorpius and Roxanne didn't look phased. Roxanne answered easily, "Schedules and partners will be announced today and you can file a complaint if you feel that a prefect is abusing their power." Rose sat back, feeling a bit reassured.

She was still nervous about who her patrol partner would be. Lorcan Scamander, the other fifth year prefect, would have been a perfect option, but her mother warned her that prefects were often paired with prefects from other houses. Rose was excited and anxious to see who the other prefects were. She only knew about Scamander because Aunt Luna had posted something in the Quibbler and then her mum made her send a note to Lorcan.

They were friends and spoke often during the school year, even studied together, but they weren't the type of friends who sent letters over holidays.

She wondered who the other Slytherin prefect was. Roxanne and Jason Lots, the Head Boy, started speaking about the plan for the meeting in low tones. Rose looked at Scorpius. "Do you know who the other Slytherin prefect is?" She tried to whisper but he was sitting on a couch too far away for it to be really considered a whisper.

Scorpius shook his head. "It wasn't any of my friends." Her nose scrunched up and she wondered how many female friends he had. "Oh." He glanced up and Rose followed his gaze. "Heather Devereaux." He didn't sound displeased. Rose had had a few classes with Heather over the years and she seemed like a perfectly nice witch.

"Scorpius," Heather sounded relieved. "I was worried Potter or Nott might've made prefect." Then she seemed to notice Rose sitting on the next couch and blinked. "I didn't mean it like that. There was just a horribly embarrassing incident last and I plan on avoiding both of those blokes for the rest of my life." Rose smiled softly.

"It's alright. I know what they can be like." Rose reassured her as Heather plopped down next to Scorpius, a little too close for Rose's liking. They were only hair-width away from touching.

"I'm nervous about who I'll be paired with." Heather told Rose and Scorpius.

"Me too." Rose admitted.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, but turned his head so only Rose could see. "It'll all work out. I'm sure Roxanne and Jesse will have thought everything through. And I'm sure Headmaster Longbottom chose great prefects." Rose relaxed but Heather still seemed on edge and she stayed on the edge until all the other prefects had arrived. Like Scorpius predicted, there wasn't one person that Rose would hate to do rounds with.

Heather seemed nice enough, but she was so chirpy and high-strung it made Rose nervous just by association. Rose hoped she was paired with Larson Carol, the fifth year Ravenclaw prefect. They had sat together in class before since he was the smartest Ravenclaw in their year and once in awhile found themselves sitting next to each other in the library.

And Rose couldn't deny that he wasn't horrible to look at. With his light brown hair and hazel eyes, set in a soft face with nice features any girl would be lucky to patrol with him.

"Welcome, prefects!" Roxanne announced once everyone was situated and quiet. "We'll try to make this as quick as possible so everyone can get back to their friends. First, I want to start by saying congratulations. But this isn't just an opportunity, it is an honor and we expect each and every one of you to treat it as such."

Jesse stepped in, "Disciplinary measures can and will be taken if you do not meet the expectations that have been set for you. You can dock points, but this is a last resort for punishing students and should be used sparingly. Same for detentions. Fifth years, don't let the power go to your head." Roxanne and Jesse gave us all withering looked before moving on.

"Now," Roxanne clapped her hands together, "let's get on to patrol partners. We'll start with the fifth years. If you don't like your partner… too bad. After that we'll hand out the patrol schedule and show you the routes you'll have to take."

Jesse cleared his throat and Rose looked at Scorpius nervously.

"Let's see… Lila Barns and Lorcan Scamander. Josephine Light and Scott Ridley. Olivia Hoffcan and Scorpius Malfoy." Rose glanced at Scorpius to gauge his reaction. He didn't give anything away, but Rose was sure he seemed a little disappointed. Rose knew Olivia, the Hufflepuff prefect, and she was a very funny and easy-going girl. "John Jackson and Priscilla Drescole. Rose Weasley and Larson Carol." Rose's heart took off and she smiled at the Ravenclaw against the room who also looked pleased to be paired together. She zoned out of the rest of the announcements, too happy to pay attention. She looked at Scorpius, who still looked slightly unhappy, but he wasn't looking in her direction.

Roxanne's voice pulled Rose out of her head. "Alright, here are your schedules. We've spoken with Quidditch captains and organized them around practice times for those of you playing Quidditch." Scorpius looked relieved since he was a star chaser on Slytherin's team. "You'll notice that this is the schedule for all prefects in your year, so if you have to switch with someone, you have their patrol time as well. There is one sixth year team patrolling certain parts of the castle and one fifth year team. So if you need to switch times, on occasion, it's best to do switch with a prefect in your year so you follow the same route." Rose grinned at the brilliance. Jesse went around handing out parchments as Roxanne spoke, "You'll notice the routes are on the back of the timetable and if you have any questions feel free to ask."

Heather whispered something in Scorpius's ear and he smiled. Rose wanted to snipe at them for talking during the meeting. Instead, she had to settle for giving them mean glares in between listening to Jesse.

"Patrolling is simple for those of you who are new to it. All you have to do is follow the route and if you hear a noise or see a student out of bed, correct the situation. If you feel you need help, send for a teacher or another prefect. Always stick to your pairs, the castle can be very dangerous and we don't want anyone wandering alone." Jesse said strictly.

Rose couldn't help but think of wandering the castle with Larson. It would be dark, the corridors only little by lanterns. Despite having had two "boyfriends" she had never really dated properly. Or been kissed properly. Rose recalled her muggle boyfriend, Jack, and thought about how they just sort of hung out and held hands. He had pecked her on the lips once, her first kiss and it had been nice but had lasted less than a second and she didn't have any desire to do it again. Then with Judah, they went to Hogsmeade and held hands at the end of last year, but that was it. They met up to study until the end of the school year and he kissed her cheek before the got off the train. She saw him only once after that.

She couldn't help but think of how romantic it would be to have a clandestine kiss with her partner while on patrol. And not just a peck, but a real kiss where he might push her against the stone wall of a hallway and keep her there for a few minutes.

When the meeting finished, Larson immediately started walking towards her. "Hey Rose."

She jumped up and smoothed out her pants. "Larson, hi! I'm really glad we were partnered together." She said and then pulled back, wondering if she sounded too eager.

"Me too. The fifth year patrol route doesn't seem so bad. I think they give sixth and seventh years the more difficult parts of the castle because they're experienced."

Rose nodded and agreed. "At least we don't have to go outside."

Before Larson could respond, Scorpius wedged his way between them completely ignoring Olivia's attempts to talk with him. "Rose, we should get back to our friends. They'll be wondering where were are." Scorpius said without even acknowledging Larson. He gave Rose a demanding look and she half expected him to start tapping his foot if she made him wait.

"I'm sure they can wait." Rose said through clenched teeth and made sure the look in her eyes told him to go away.

"Don't you want to see them?" He asked innocently.

Rose couldn't really think of anything to say without giving away that she was nursing the sapling of a crush on Larson. "Fine," she grumbled and mustered a smile for Larson. "I'll see you later and we can talk about patrolling." He nodded, looking mystified and confused, same as Rose. Scorpius practically grabbed her and pulled her out of the car.

They made their way back to the compartment where the rest of their friends were. Carrick Nott was also sitting with the group which was a first on the train.

Tara blinked as she looked up from the Daily Prophet. "You two are back early. I thought the meeting would last longer than thirty minutes."

"Roxanne and Jesse were going very quickly." Scorpius leaned back casually.

Rose glared at him and crossed her arms as she sat down in between Clarissa and Albus. "What the bloody hell was that?" She hissed at Scorpius and all other conversation stopped.

He stared at her and then shrugged. "I dunno what you mean."

"You dragged me out of the meeting!"

"The meeting was over."

She couldn't believe he didn't see the fault in his actions.

"But I wanted to stay," she told him through clenched teeth.

"Why?" He challenged.

She huffed and looked away, flushed. "You know why."

"We don't know why," said Albus.

"Larson Carol." Rose said and Tara squealed making Scorpius pull back. "We're partners for patrol and we were going to talk about that—"

"What's there to talk about?" Scorpius interrupted.

"Loads!" Rose erupted. "Where are we going to meet? What happens if one of us is late? Important things that need to be discussed and that might've been our only chance." Scorpius glanced at the schedule.

"You're patrolling on Friday, Red." Scorpius said drily.

"But how are we supposed to know where to meet?" Rose snapped. "You've ruined everything."

"You could've just stayed!" Scorpius argued.

"You were practically pulling me out by my hair." Rose's voice kept rising and she was sure that her cheeks must've been as red as her hair.

"I was not! I asked if you had a reason to stay and you said you didn't."

"My mind went blank." Rose said defensively and Scorpius scoffed.

"Note to self—if you want to make Rose Weasley stupid, get her in the presence of a mildly attractive boy." He said mockingly.

If Rose was any madder steam would blow out of her ears. "He's—you're—ugh! He's more than mildly attractive and you should've left well enough alone. Merlin, I wish we had never met."

"Don't be dramatic," he replied wryly.

"No! You always have to ruin everything."

Scorpius lost his calm demeanor and his careless stance. He sat up to attention and leaned forward menacing, forcing Nott to move away.

"Mates—" Albus started to say.

"It is not my fault that you go through blokes—"

Rose laughed in a very angry, hysterical way. "Go through blokes? Me? You're the one who has a line of girls following him around, getting with a different one each week."

"I've only had one girlfriend!" Scorpius argued and Rose went cold at the mention of that bratty wench that he had forced on them last year.

"And how many dates?" Rose countered.

"Is it illegal to date? It's not like I'm using them and dumping them. We just go out for a good time and that's all." Scorpius's cheeks were flushed and his hair fell in front of his eyes. Rose was so glad when he had stopped using so much gel in his hair.

"Why doesn't everyone just calm down," Clarissa said, looking slightly abashed. "You two are fighting over nothing and it's not very pleasant for the rest of us." Rose and Scorpius glanced at each other and then leaned back in their seats with folded arms.

"Now, why don't we talk about fun thing?" Albus suggested. "Like how we can get away with everything because we know two prefects." He grinned devilishly and Rose sighed.

"Al, you know we can't give you special preference."

To her surprise, Scorpius agreed. "We just got a huge lecture on abusing our power. I think Roxanne would string us up by our balls if we tried to get anything past her." Albus and Nott cringed at his choice of words. Rose wouldn't put it past her older cousin.

"And it's wrong."

"Yeah, that too." Scorpius said like it was an afterthought. Rose rolled her eyes and when she looked back at him, he gave her a teasing smile.

She couldn't bring herself to be too angry with him. Usually, any excuse to argue with him, she took, but after their fight a couple of minutes ago she realized something. Rose didn't enjoy that type of fighting with Scorpius. That last fight felt real and wrong.

She didn't like the idea of him being truly upset with her.


	6. Sixth Year

**September 1, 2022**

"Rose?" Larson was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. She didn't really feel like talking to him and felt a slight flush of embarrassment when she remembered what a huge crush she had on him last year. Merlin, that had taken two seconds to die.

She was on her way to the prefect's carriage and she had just been in the middle of praying that Larson Carol wouldn't be her partner again and then he showed up.

"Hey Larson," she tried to muster as much of a smile as she could.

"You look amazing." He said, his eyes not focused on her face. She didn't like the surprise in his voice either. "What happened?"

Rose's jaw dropped. This is the lesson she had learned last year. Larson was nice-ish, but as soon as he felt relatively comfortable around you, all tact went out the window. She had spent all patrols last year avoiding all conversation with him. "Thanks?"

"You really filled out."

Rose stared at him. There were no words.

"Your chest—"

"Larson!" Rose snapped. She knew she had put on a few pounds in all the right places and lost a few in all the right places as well. Her face had slimmed down and her hair was finally a deep red, not the bright red-orange that had plagued her for her whole life. Her figure had filled out and the few spots that she had, had disappeared.

She pushed past Larson and went into the prefect's carriage. Scorpius and Sariah were sitting on the couch and she never thought she would be so happy so see Scorpius. Despite he and Albus hanging out all summer, Rose had seen him at all. She couldn't figure out if she was happy or sad about this fact.

 _I probably just missed bickering with him_ , she told herself. Their relationship had changed last year. They had gone on patrol together a few times and he had stuck with her when Larson bailed frequently. Granted, he had teased her for ever having a crush on such a flake, but still…

She bit back a grin as she approached Scorpius and Sariah.

"Hey," she smiled feeling slightly giddy.

"Hey," Sariah smiled back. Scorpius glanced up and his jaw dropped.

Rose sat down across from them. "How were your holidays?"

"Mine was pretty good." Sariah said. She was a seventh year Ravenclaw prefect. "How about you?" Rose was very aware the Scorpius was still staring at her.

"It was fun. I spent a week with my muggle grandparents. Other than that I didn't really go anywhere." Rose answered and then looked at Scorpius. She noticed that he had grown as well. Not much in height since last year, but he was still a head taller than her. No, the big change was the muscles and his hair. His hair was grown out and loose.

He looked so much more handsome than she remembered. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was about her.

"You alright?" Sariah's voice bursted through the haze that was forming between Rose and Scorpius's gaze. Rose blinked and glanced to the girl sitting beside Scorpius, then cleared her throat.

"Of course." Rose smiled brightly, maybe a little too brightly.

"My summer break was great," Scorpius said suddenly, like he had just processed what the two girls had been talking.

"Great." Rose replied quickly and then pressed her lips together.

Sariah gave them an uncomfortable look.

"I think the meeting's starting." Scorpius said.

"Oh, thank Merlin." Sariah muttered, sounding relieved.

The Head Boy and Girl, Lucy Weasley and Friedrich Rein, started the meeting with the "duty and honor" speech, going on and on about how being a prefect was a responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. Rose tuned them out as soon as it became clear that there wasn't anything new she needed to know.

She glanced at Scorpius, trying to memorize his strong jaw, which had always been cut and sharp, but now seemed set with maturity. His hair had never looked so soft… she wanted to run her hands through it and find out if it was as soft as it looked. And every once in awhile, when he would glance at her, she was captivated by his silvery eyes that seemed to hold all the light in the world.

"And now for partners..." Friedrich rattled off the fifth year prefect pairs.

Rose was anxiously for her name to be called when Lucy started to announce the sixth year pairs. She had told Lucy all about Larson so she was confident they wouldn't be paired together.

After a few pairs had been announced Rose heard her name, "Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy." Rose's heart nearly leapt out of throat. The noise that she made certainly sounded like something was trying to get free.

She nervously looked at him.

He smiled nervously and when she smiled back he winked at her. She looked away quickly, hoping he wouldn't see the ridiculous smile that burst onto her face. After the meeting was over and everyone else started shuffling out, Rose stayed put. She noted that Scorpius was still sitting as well. Hopefully no one would notice that the two of them had lagged behind.

When they were the only ones left in the carriage, Scorpius stood up and sat on the same couch as Rose. There was enough space between them that another person could've sat on the couch, but Rose still felt the heat coming off of him.

"It could've been worse, Red." He drummed his fingers anxiously.

"I know," she said quietly. "I actually feel… relieved. Is that crazy? I mean, I don't like you but I'm glad we're patrolling together."

"Carol was a no-show so many times, we were practically partners last year as well," Scorpius sneered, but not at Rose, at Larson Carol's name. Rose smiled down at her hands.

"It wasn't so bad."

"I still say you should've told Roxanne or McGonagall." Scorpius gave her an accusatory look. "I was so bloody pissed when I found you wandering the castle alone!" Rose reached out without thinking and put a hand on his forearm. His hands were tightly clenched on his lap and she could tell he was getting himself worked up.

"Nothing ever happened."

"But it could've done." Scorpius's eyes shifted to her arms subtly, but she didn't pull away. "That won't be happening this year, especially since our patrol route goes outside this year."

"Everything's changing," Rose said randomly. It had just struck her that this year everything was truly different. James and Freddie were no longer at Hogwarts, amazingly they had found jobs, Scorpius and Rose were sort of friends, and Albus and Clarissa were going together to no one's surprise. By Christmas last year, the tension was palpable between Clarissa and Albus and their group had bets going on how long it would take. They were together by Easter.

"Is that bad?"

Rose tilted her head. "I suppose not. It's scary to think next year is our last year. Only two years left at Hogwarts and then…"

"Then we have to have our shit together." Scorpius said somberly and Rose laughed at the grim look on his face.

"What do you want to do with your life?" Rose asked.

Scorpius barked out a laugh and shook his head with a grin. "Well isn't that a loaded question?" He mused. "I dunno. Probably something at the bank like my dad."

Rose frowned. She had never her Scorpius talk about his father's work. "Is that what you want?"

Scorpius sighed and leaned back. "I don't know what I want to do, so I might as well do that. What about you?"

"I think it'd be fun to work in the Ministry's Committee on Experimental Charms." Rose said excitedly. Scorpius watched her with mild amusement.

"You are brilliant at Charms."

Rose flushed and looked away. She realized that her hand was still resting on Scorpius's arm and pulled away. "You're amazing at Transfiguration." Scorpius shrugged. "Does your dad really want you to follow after him?"

Scorpius shrugged again. "He's fine with whatever I want to do." He paused thoughtfully. "Well, he might fight back if I said I want to play Quidditch, but as long as it's a stable job that I'm happy with, he'll be alright." Rose was surprised. She had never formally met Draco Malfoy, but he didn't seem like a calm and understanding person. He never seemed to be smiling or laughing.

Of course, Rose only saw him on Platform 9 and ¾. He was probably different with Scorpius and Mr. Malfoy had accepted Albus well enough.

"What are you thinking about?" Scorpius asked, watching Rose was a distant smile.

"Your dad." Rose said without think and then clarified when Scorpius's eyes shot up. "What's he like? You don't talk about him much, or the rest of your family." She knew it was a touchy subject, especially his grandparents, but it seemed like it was now or never.

Scorpius smiled, "He's alright, he's a dad." He chuckled. "We bicker and argue, but I love him and he's a really great dad. My mum's the best too and I think that really helps my dad. They go well together. He wouldn't be as happy or content without her, she makes him a better dad and a better person." Rose nearly melted into a puddle at his loving words.

She let out a long breath and swooned. "I want that someday."

After a pause, Rose realized Scorpius was staring at her steadily. She must've sounding like a typical blubbering girl. "Eventually," she added, wanting to make sure he didn't think she was trying to nail some poor bloke down at age 16. "Don't you want that?"

"I've never thought about it, but now…" he looked at her. "Sure, I want it."

"Just to have someone you can depend on, to be there and make you happy."

Scorpius's eyes flickered with light. "Have anyone in mind?"

Rose opened her mouth and then closed it. "No," she mumbled, not sure why that answer didn't seem right. "I'm too young to start thinking about forever."

Scorpius looked at her, "Even if you found the right person?"

"I think it might take a while to find the right person." Rose said quickly because she didn't know what else to say and this conversation was rapidly becoming more meaningful than she could handle. "It doesn't just happen. Love and relationships take years to form, so at the very least I have some time, even if I meet the right person tomorrow."

Scorpius gave her a doubtful look. "You don't believe in love at first sight?"

Rose gaped at him. "You do?"

Scorpius looked at her thoughtfully, his eyes never wavering. "You're telling me that you don't think it's possible for two people to just click?" His gaze was so intense she wanted to look away but couldn't. His silvery eyes seemed to have a magnetic hold over her. He continued to speak softly, "For two people to just look into each other's eyes and know that that's the only person on Earth who understands them?"

Rose's mouth felt dry and she had to clear her throat. "How would it be possible to know if someone understands you just from the look in their eyes?"

Scorpius tilted his head. "I'm not saying it's logical or reasonable… but there's something that makes people want to be with their soulmates and it's not because of shared interests or friendly feelings. It's pure, hot passion."

Rose hadn't known she was leaning forward until she realized his eyes were suddenly closer. When she spoke, it was like she was in a trance. She was talking, but she spoke absently and wasn't really thinking about what she was saying. All she could think about was his eyes and how perfect they were. "Albus and Clarissa were friends before they got on. That took years to develop before they were comfortable being in a relationship."

"Not everyone is the same." He whispered.

There was something incredibly enticing about his voice.

A sudden jolt in the train jerked her back and forced her out of whatever trance she had been in. Reality came back to her and Rose realized that they were in the middle of the prefect's carriage and her was apparently trying to convince her that soulmates and love at first sight existed.

Scorpions looked as surprised as she was and realization flashed across his face. Rose laughed nervously, not knowing what else to do. "What an odd conversation." She commented, hoping to relieve some of the tension.

Scorpions cracked a smile, but still looked shaken. "Yeah, I dunno where that came from. It doesn't matter, anyways. We should get back before anyone comes looking for us."

Rose nodded, her voice wasn't working. She couldn't think of a reason why it would be bad for someone to find them, but she knew it would be. The conversation they just had seemed illicit, just like the idea of them being friends.


	7. Seventh Year

**September 1, 2023**

"This makes me feel so old!" Hermione swiped under her eyes, catching the tears. Rose rolled her eyes and tried to pull away, but her mum's grip on her was too strong. Suddenly her dad enveloped her into a tight hug and she was smushed between her parents. Hugo smirked from the sidelines. The train whistled again.

"Mum, I'm going to miss the train!" Rose tried to escape with no luck.

Hermione squeezed her one last time and then pulled back. "I just can't believe it's your seventh year! And you made Head Girl." Rose allowed an embarrassed smile to grace her lips and then forced it away.

"We really do have to board," Hugo sang.

"Alright," Ron pulled away and looped his arm through Hermione's. "See you in December."

Hermione sniffled. "Have a good term."

Rose backed away quickly so she was out of her parents' reach just in case they got sentimental again. "We will." She grabbed Hugo and pulled him towards the train. She was beyond excited for her seventh year to start and it would all begin with the prefect's meeting which she was now in charge of!

With Scorpius. In all of her eagerness, she was surprised to realize that perhaps for the first time since coming to Hogwarts, Rose didn't dread seeing Scorpius Malfoy. In fact, they had seen each other once over the summer when he came over the Al's house while she was there. After last year's prefect rounds, the pair had come to some sort of understanding. It had been coming on for the past couple of years, but their truce was solidified a week after winter break last year.

It was strange to realize over Christmas that she sort of missed Scorpius's company. They spoke while doing rounds and studied together before large tests. On the odd occasion Rose would join them for dinner when Clarissa wanted to sit with Albus and more than once they had found themselves in Hogsmeade.

Neither of them had any sort of relationship so if Tara got a date they would stroll around the village alone while Albus and Clarissa were sucking face. Everytime Rose thought about seeking another companion for the Hogsmeade visits she was taken back to that fateful conversation she had with Scorpius on the train.

Rose sighed, thinking that this year had to be different. It was her last year at Hogwarts and while she was Head Girl, her social standing was weaker than ever. No boy ever approached her about going to Hogsmeade or studying or any other excuse that blokes used to get a girl alone. She didn't mind too much, but it was a little disheartening to think that no boy had ever taken an interest in her… other than Larson, who thankfully, was no longer a prefect.

And some Slytherin boy would be replacing Scorpius as the seventh year prefect since Scorpius was Head Boy.

In a haze, Rose made her way to the prefect's carriage, not bothering to find her friends. She separated from Hugo and meandered down the hall, passing a variety of students in their compartments. As she was walking by, one compartment flew open, making a loud BANG!, and out came Percy Clarion.

"Rose," he seemed flustered. "I didn't see you there." He was a seventh year Gryffindor who she had had many classes with over the years.

"How were your holidays?"

Rose shrugged. "Can't complain, nothing too interesting."

"That's great," he nodded and kept staring at her. Laughter and ruckus came from the compartment and Percy turned around to glare at his friends.

"Well, I should—"

"Rose," he interrupted and then blushed hard. His skin was almost as pale as hers, not quite so many freckles, but still showed the violent blush just as well. "I was wondering—well, I wasn't sure—" he stuttered and more snickers came from his compartment. Rose's heart ballooned as she realized what he was probably trying to ask her.

She smiled softly, hoping to make him less nervous. There she was, wondering about if any bloke would be interested in her and then Percy shows up. She watched him stammer anxious and concealed an giddy grin.

"It's alright," Rose bit her lip. "Just talk."

He took a deep breath and moved his dark hair out of his eyes. Rose wasn't sure if she found the dark hair on dark eyes appealing. Percy was attractive, but his looks were typical. She wasn't sure if it was because she was surrounded by redheads and hazel-eyed people, but somehow the boring dark hair and dark eyes seemed… dull.

Either way, she waited eagerly for his question.

"Are you still with Malfoy?"

Rose froze, her mind rummaging through the many implications of his question. One, he was most likely interested in her given that he wanted to know her relationship status. Two, he thought that she was in a relationship with Scorpius. Three… well, actually she was mostly stuck on number two. This needed to be clarified immediately.

"Huh?" She blurted out stupidly.

"I was just wondering if you and Malfoy—"

Rose yelped, "Me and Malfoy? Scorpius and I?" She babbled.

"Yes…"

"We're not together!" She practically shouted.

Percy grinned, "You broke up?"

Rose gasped, feeling the need to clutch her chest. "We were never together!"

Percy frowned. "Really?"

"Yes!"

Percy eyed her doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Rose's jaw dropped. "Of course I'm sure!"

"Oh, well then would you like to go out sometime?"

She couldn't even be happy that he was asking her out because she was too stuck on the fact that he thought she had been getting on with Scorpius. "Why would you think that Scorpius and I were together?" She demanded. The idea was entirely too ludicrous for words.

Percy looked surprised. "Well, you spend all of your time together—"

"We're friends!"

"—and going out at night—"

"We were patrol partners!"

"—and you always went to Hogsmeade together." Percy finished.

Rose scoffed. "Just because we spend time together—"

"And the fact that Scorpius nor you ever denied the claims."

Rose shook her head. "I didn't know about 'the claims' and had I, I would've denied them because it's not true." She insisted, annoyed by the doubtful look. "Who else thinks this?"

Percy swallowed. "Um… everyone?" He sounded very confused by her reaction and that angered Rose even more. How could she and Scorpius have gone a whole year without hearing anything about this? And surely, Albus or one of the others would've mentioned it if they had heard anything.

"Well, no one's mentioned anything to me so it isn't such a big deal. And no one has mentioned anything to Scorpius—"

Percy laughed like that was the funniest thing on Earth. Rose frowned. Percy's laugh died off when he saw her face. "You're serious?"

"About what?" Rose was becoming more and more confuse as this conversation went on.

"Scorpius knew."

Rose's eyes widened.

Percy continued cautiously, "And he never denied it."

Rose's nose flared, "Well, he couldn't have known for sure—"

"I asked him."

"What?" Rose gasped.

"Around February of last year, one of the Hogsmeade trips, I wanted to ask you and I didn't believe the rumors about you two being together. So I asked him and he said that your relationship was nobody's business and that any bloke who was thinking of you should… well, they shouldn't think of you."

Rose fumed. She couldn't think of what to say. She was sure that she looked ridiculous: red face, untamed hair, and a stupid look on her face because she was still processing and couldn't believe that Scorpius had said those things. "That—that's just—he could've meant that our friendship is no one's business and they shouldn't speculate beyond that. It is possible that a boy and a girl can be friends." Rose sounded desperate even to her own ears.

Percy must've heard the hurt or desperation or something horrid in her voice. He continued to talk cautiously as if she might fall apart at his words. "Maybe," he said doubtfully. "But I think when he told Peter Scaffold to stay away from you, he wasn't thinking of friendship." Rose's mouth dropped open.

"He wouldn't mess with me like this—"

"Mess with you?"

Rose paid him no attention. "I have to find him." She practically growled. As an afterthought she hastily said goodbye to Percy and then rushed off to find wretched Scorpius. She passed the trolley cart and realized that in her anger she hadn't noticed the train had started.

She didn't think her temper could get any worse, but when she saw his platinum blonde cap as she was approaching the prefect's carriage, her anger flew off the handle. He was talking with Heather, who started to smile when she saw Rose but then must've seen the look on her face.

Scorpius turned around when he saw the fearful look on Heather's face.

"Rose—"

"You bastard!" She hissed as she stalked up to him. Heather jumped back as Rose flung herself at Scorpius, pushing him backwards as hard a she could. The other girl shrieking as Scorpius was bashed into the compartment door.

"Rose!" Heather shouted.

Rose breathed in deeply feeling better now that she had bashed Scorpius about, but she still planned on reaming him out verbally. "Heather, could you give me a moment with Malfoy?" She struggled to keep a handle on her rage.

His eyes widened at the use of his last name.

Heather watched her cautiously. "I'm not sure—"

"I won't kill him," Rose said stiffly. She and Scorpius were watching each other with guarded eyes.

Heather sighed. "Well… alright. I'll just be inside." The meaning behind her words was clear: I'll be close by and I'll hear everything.

Scorpius frowned at Heather's departure and then swallowed when he looked back at Rose. "What's in your head?" He demanded, despite looking rather frightened. Rose stared at him for a few moments, just to make him sweat and it seemed to work.

When she spoke there was a deadly calm in her voice. "I just spoke with Percy."

"Who?"

Rose's teeth clenched. "Oh, don't you remember? You told him that we were in a relationship and that he should stay away from me. Apparently you told numerous boys that."

The look on Scorpius's face was nothing short of total shell-shock. He looked as his she had slapped him across the face, which she was tempted to do.

"Rose… Rose, I—"

She watched him struggle and waited for him to find the words.

With his chin down, he glanced up at her. Her heart wavered in its determination to be upset with him. But she steeled herself. "I can't believe I thought that we were friends." Tears pooled her eyes despite her resolve to stay cold and unfeeling.

Scorpius stepped forward quickly and reached out, but she pulled away. "We are friends!"

Rose scoffed. "Then why would you ever want me to be unhappy? I understand that we're quite used to playing pranks and such, but this seems too cruel—"

"Cruel?" Scorpius sounded amazing.

She glared at him and hissed, "You want me to be alone forever! Of course that's cruel!"

Scorpius stared at her with an open mouth and then glanced around. "I don't want you to be alone forever." He hissed under his breath. "Maybe we could duck away for a moment."

Rose folded her arms indignantly. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm. She yelped as he pulled her into a storage room that was stocked with boxes of sweets and drinks. "Let me go—"

"First you must listen to me." Scorpius said firmly.

"I mustn't do—"

"Rose!" He shouted and then took a deep breath. She was stunned into silence but quickly pulled out of it and forced him to release her. "It isn't that I want you to be unhappy or alone… Percy just wasn't—isn't—good enough for you." He explained. Rose laughed sarcastically.

"Are you serious?" She demanded. "Don't you think I can figure that out for myself? And at any rate, why would you tell him that we're going together?"

Scorpius straightened. "I thought it would be easier."

"Easier than what?" She spat.

"Than going through the trouble of a flirtation and then a drawn out romance."

Rose's eyes filled. "You tried to ruin my chance of happiness because it would be easier for you?"

"Easier for you!" He snapped loudly, "I didn't think—"

"Obviously."

"—that you would like him much. Especially as a boyfriend." His temper was quickly rising.

"But that's no reason for you to forbid any bloke from looking my way!" Rose shouted.

"I didn't want them to look your way!" He shouted.

Rose froze. Both of their eyes widened as they stared at each other in shock. His seemed as surprised as she was. "What can you mean?" Rose whispered.

"I didn't want you to have a boyfriend. And I didn't want any other girl so it hardly mattered that everyone thought we were in a relationship."

Rose's jaw went slack. "Any other girl?" She said softly.

Scorpius looked up at her through his lashes bashfully and her heart thundered. "I didn't want either of us getting on with other people and I thought that was the easiest way to do it." He whispered as he stepped closer. His gaze felt as though it were piercing her soul.

It dawned on her that they were smushed together in a closet and there was less than a foot of space between them, even less as he moved closer.

"Scorpius…"

His hand brushed her arm and then made its way into her hand. "I never wanted you to be unhappy… and if you really think some bloke will make you happy…" he struggled with the words, "then I'll tell everyone it was only a joke." That should've made Rose feel better, but doubt seeped into her thoughts. Scorpius must've noticed her frowned because he perked up. "And if not, there's no need to say anything, we could go on living in peace. I never took you for a girl that needs a boyfriends anyways."

Rose sighed, the last of her anger falling away. "It's not that I want a boyfriend so much as a companion. I want to know what it's like to have someone to lean on and kiss when you've had a bad day. It'd be nice to be wanted." She had to look away from him.

"Oh… oh, Rose," his other hand came up to cup her face. "I didn't lie to the whole school just so… just to…" he stuttered and Rose glanced up at him hoping his eyes might betray something.

As soon as her face lifted, his came down and his lips pressed firmly against hers. Rose's mouth popped open with a gasp and he took full advantage. He moved his lips cautiously against hers. Scorpius still had two hands on her, one on her cheek and the other on her hip. Rose couldn't help but be pulled in by him and persuaded by his lips.

Her arms were crushed between their bodies as he drew her closer. Scorpius pushed her against the shelves and swept his tongue against her lower lip. Unknowingly, her fingers spread so that should could touch as much of his chest as she possibly could. She couldn't help but grip his jacket lapels and pulls him closer.

A low moan vibrated from his mouth against her lips. Rose let out a gasp went the shelves pressed hard against her back sharply, but she didn't have a moment to think about the discomfort because Scorpius was quickly losing control.

His mouth became savage and desperate as he kissed, making her dizzy. And what was crazier… she kissed him back just as desperately. Her arms snaked around his neck, lacing her fingers through his hair.

Something clattered to the floor, but neither Rose nor Scorpius paid it any attention.

Her heart felt light, like it might float away from being filled with so much happiness.

BANG! The door flew open and Rose and Scorpius jumped apart. Heather stared at them with wide eyes, looking back and forth comically. "I—I just—" Heather stuttered, looking embarrassed. Rose and Scorpius breathed heavily, not daring to look at each other. "I came out and you were gone and then I heard a crash."

Rose smoothed her shirt. "We were—that is, nothing happened." Now that Scorpius's lips weren't on her mouth, her mind cleared. She couldn't believe that they had kissed—not just kissed, but snogged. And despite the fact that it was so wrong… she had never felt more happy or right.

Denying what happened felt wrong.

Heather looked away, "The meeting's going to start is a half an hour. I think I'll go get something from the trolley before then." She muttered and then practically ran away.

Rose stared straight ahead, not daring to look at Scorpius, but she could feel his eyes on her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what he was thinking and that was frightening.

"Rose…"

She looked sideways at him and her throat burned as she took in the sight of him. His hair was all messed up, probably from her hands, and his lips were red and puffy. His jacket was ripped open, but she couldn't remember doing that.

"Scorpius," she whispered and reached out hesitantly to touch his hair. His eyes fluttered closed briefly and then his silvery gaze fixed on her. "You could've said something."

"About what?"

Rose blushed, "You kept boys away from me and then you kissed me."

Scorpius looked down. "I never wanted you to be sad or alone."

"But you didn't want me to date anyone else."

Everything Percy said clicked into place. When she glanced up at him she saw his cheeks were pink. "You're so beautiful."

Rose blinked. "Is that why you started being nice to me last year?"

Scorpius frowned and turned towards her so that they were nearly pressed up against each other once again. "What do you mean?"

Rose turned red. "I got pretty—"

"You've always been beautiful." Scorpius bent down and kissed her lips softly. "I love your hair. And your eyes and everything about you."

Rose let out a short laugh, "You used to tease me about my hair."

Scorpius smiled and wrapped a piece of the red strands around his finger. "Isn't that what boys are supposed to do? Tease girls they like…"

Rose scrunched up her nose. "That's not nice. And you're telling me that you've liked me for years?"

"Well, I might not have realized it when I was eleven, but I did know that I loved to argue with you." Scorpius brushed his nose against hers. "I want us to be together. I want to go to Hogsmeade with you." Rose felt so old so it was comforting to know that going on a date still meant going to plain old Hogsmeade.

"We always go together anyways." Rose said automatically.

"Yes, but this time I'll pay for your drinks and we'll hold hands."

Rose couldn't deny how lovely that sounded. "What will people say?"

"Whatever they like. Why should we care? Besides, as you pointed out, everyone thinks we are together anyways."

"I'm still put off about that."

Scorpius grinned and cupped her face. "Say you'll be with me." He whispered.

"We live in the same dormitory now."

"Even better."

Rose gave him a disapproving look. "We work together."

"We work well together," Scorpius corrected. "You sound like you're trying to talk yourself out of giving it a go, but you haven't actually said no which leads me to believe you don't want to reject me." Rose sighed.

"This is sudden—"

"No, it's not." Scorpius snorted. "We spent so many nights patrols, all those Hogsmeade trips, and many afternoons studying… this has been coming on for at least a year, even if you won't admit it."

Rose bit her lip. "We were friends."

"Glad to hear you admit it." Scorpius teased. He sobered quickly, "I loved being your friend, but I want more."

"What will our friends say?"

Rose couldn't understand why she was fighting him, but it seemed like after the years of bickering she owed it to herself to at least pretend she didn't like him. Afterall, if she gave in so easily she was admitting that she may've been wrong before.

"Al and Clarissa are together."

"But they didn't hate each other before."

"Neither did we. Not really." Scorpius insisted. "Merlin, it is so like you to pick at every little thing."

"This is not a little thing! What if—"

"If we're going to think about every single thing that could go wrong then there's no point." He huffed, dropping his hands from her face. "The only thing I care about is whether or not you love me." Rose's eyes widened at the mention of love. It was too soon for love. "Because I love you. I am completely and total in—"

"Scorpius!" Rose gasped. "I liked kissing you, but love?"

"It's fine if you don't love me yet, but do you think you ever will?"

Rose stared at him. This was a boy whom she had fought will, physically injured, and immensely disliked for over six years. She had been trained for birth to hate him and his family and his house. But the honest truth was that she could see herself being completely happy with Scorpius Malfoy. He was her equal in every way.

"Scorpius, I want to be with you."

"But…" he said nervously.

Rose frowned. "But nothing. I want to be with you. I want to try and—"

Scorpius crashed his lips against hers and pulled her against him. One of her hands gripped his bicep, drawing him closer and the other tangled in his hair. She was so close to losing herself against him, but she remembered where they were. "Wait," she murmured against his lips as he continued to kiss her. "Wait, wait…" she broke away. He paused and then nipped her lips before pulling away.

"We have a meeting soon." Rose breathed heavily.

"Soon, but not yet." Scorpius nipped at her jaw.

"But we have to prepare and..." her words fell away as he trailed his teeth down her neck. "And… we should…"

He sucked at the base of her neck for a few moments and then pulled back. "I suppose you're right." Rose was so dazed it took her a moment to understand him. "We shouldn't push our luck. What if Heather comes back? Or if someone else comes in."

Rose jumped back, realizing that Heather had already caught them and anyone else could've just walked in. They were supposed to uphold the rules, not sneak off to snog in closets. "We should go to the prefect's compartment before someone thinks to look for us."

"Not until you agree to go to Hogsmeade with me." Scorpius stepped in front of the door, blocking her exit.

"Alright." Rose said evenly.

Scorpius's mouth popped open and it looked like fighting words were about to come out, but then he frowned. "What?"

"I'll go with you. I'll be with you." Rose whispered as she reached out and took his hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed his hand slowly. "We might actually be good together."

Scorpius barked out a surprised laugh. "Don't sound so surprised."

She ran her thumbs over his knuckles. "Unlike you, I haven't been plotting this for years." Rose bit her lip. "We should go." For a moment Rose thought he wouldn't let them out, but Scorpius stepped aside.

"Come on." Scorpius said softly as he opened the door.

Rose smiled. "You know—"

Her words were cut short as she came face to face with Albus, who was standing in the corridor with his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. Her eyes widened and her mouth popped open as if she was going to argue… although he hadn't said anything so she wasn't sure what she was arguing against. Maybe the knowing look on his face.

Rose could feel Scorpius behind her and she imaged he was were the same dumbstruck looking she was.

"A closet?" Albus deadpanned. "A ruddy supply closet? Could you two be more obvious?" Albus shook his head with a grin. If Rose's eyes could've gotten any larger they would've done.

"We weren't—"

Albus snorted, "You were snogging in the closet, don't insult me by lying about it. You both look like you've walked through a hurricane." Albus looked like he was holding back laugh.

Rose wrung her hands. "You're not angry?"

Albus threw his head back and laughed. "Of course I'm bloody angry! I lost 10 galleons thanks to you two!" He tried to glare at them accusingly but there were tears of laughter pooling in his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Scorpius said from behind her, stepping around her so that they were all standing face to face.

"You couldn't have waited until February?" Albus shook his head.

Rose was so confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The fact that if you two had hooked up on Valentine's Day I would've won over 100 galleons. Couldn't've waited a few more months."

Rose was too confused to answer. She was trying to decipher what Albus was talking about when Scorpius said, "You bet on us?" Rose blinked and then looked at Albus.

"That can't be true."

Albus looked slightly abashed. He mumbled, "Well…"

Rose gasped. "You couldn't have known!"

Albus barked out a laugh, "We all knew before you did." He boasted.

"All?" Rose whispered.

Albus grinned. "Just the family and some friends. And Mr. Malfoy."

Scorpius choked and his face went pale. "My father…"

"How did the entire family know?" Rose demanded. "We hated each other! Why would they think—"

"The only thing you lot spoke about was how much you hated each other. Towards the end of fifth year we realized the only thing you wanted to do was bicker or talk about bickering." Albus said drily and Rose blushed at his words.

"We weren't so bad—"

"It was bloody annoying! 'Rose did this...' 'Scorpius did that...' 'He is so annoying...' 'She is so bothersome...'" Albus rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you meant it at first, we all thought you did. But when Lily went to Hogsmeade for the first time, she saw the two of you together. She asked me about the two of you and I brushed it off, telling her that she couldn't possibly understand your relationship. Lily said that if you truly hated each other, you would avoid one another, not go out of your way to argue." Albus inhaled deeply. "So she watched and I watched and then I told Tara and Clarissa and they watched. Eventually, we all reached the same conclusion."

"But my father—" Scorpius started ask.

"Apparently he and Aunt Hermione met at the Ministry and talked about the two of you. I think Freddie might've said something to his dad, who told Harry who told Ginny who told Hermione. And your dad must've known from the way you spoke of Rose." Albus shrugged. "I don't really know the details, but I think your dad is the only one who doesn't know," he told Rose. "It's the worst kept secret in the family."

Rose looked at Scorpius. "Do you know what this means?"

He stared at her for a moment and then smiled. "We don't have to hide. My father won't disown me."

Rose swallowed, "And what about mine? He might try to kill you." Rose said seriously.

Albus chuckled, "I'd love to be a dung beetle on the wall for that conversation."

Rose glared at her cousin. "So you and the entire family bet on us?"

Albus coughed, "No. Only half of us actually bet, but we all knew. I think Roxanne actually won. She bet that it would happen seventh year before Halloween."

"How would Roxanne know?"

"She was Head Girl your first year as prefects." Albus pointed out. "So now it's all smooth sailing."

Scorpius scoffed, "Hardly. We're Head Boy and Girl. I don't think we should publicize our relationship." Rose's heart jumped at his words. It was weird to hear him talk about 'their relationship.' "We should probably go prepare for the meeting."

Rose was relieved to have an exit from this awkward and embarrassing conversation. Her face was so red, she wasn't looking forward to standing in front of the prefects and having them stare at her. She must've looked thoroughly worked over. "We should probably apologize to Heather," Rose mumbled absently.

"Heather caught you?" Albus laughed. "You two really need to choose your snogging places better."

Rose huffed. "No need to be crude." Her eyes closed. "She's probably gone and told everyone."

Scorpius shook his head. "She was too stupefied."

Albus couldn't stop grinning and it was starting to annoy Rose. This all felt like a joke or a huge prank. She didn't think in a millions years her family could've accepted Scorpius. Then again, her father didn't know so there was still a chance for hell to pay. She didn't think her friends would be alright with her and Scorpius, but they were.

"This is going to be a great year." Albus sang.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "We should go," he said to Rose, ignoring Al.

Rose didn't respond.

"What's wrong?"

She glanced sideways at Scorpius. "It's our last year. I thought it would be different. I thought I would feel different."

"You're taller," Albus smirked.

"You know what I mean! This is the most important year of our lives, and probably the most difficult."

Scorpius snorted, "I hope that's true because then we'll have easy lives. If the hardest thing I live through is an examination…" he trailed off. "That won't be so bad."

"What's going to happen after graduation?" Rose wondered. She had spent the summer researching job positions, but she still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. McGonagall and Uncle Neville had given her suggestions but she still wasn't sure. It felt wrong to be entering seventh year and not have a clue what she wanted to pursue.

"That's a whole year away!" Albus protested.

"Easy for you to say! You have scouts after you left and right." Rose snapped.

Scorpius sighed, "Why are we talking about this now? Meeting. Now. Remember?"

Albus chuckled, "Go on. Make Hogwarts a better place and give the prefects wisdom." He said dramatically. "We'll see you when you're finished with the meeting." Then he sauntered off. It was a wonder he wobble from having such an oversized head.

Rose let out a long breath.

"Whatever you're worried about… we'll get through it together." Scorpius took her hand. "Let's go get this meeting over with, I want to start the year." She smiled at him as he pulled her forward. "And then we can talk more about us."

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone reading this story! Thank you to my reviewers and followers who have stayed with this story. Out of all my stories this is probably my favourite, but I would love for you to check out my others!**

 **I'm thinking of doing some type of sequel story - either another seven part story about the rides home from Hogwarts or a novel to fill in the blanks throughout the years!**

 **Happy reading! - Alex**


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